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51st Conference - Tours

First Stop Portland Study Tours

Sunday, June 8, 2014

2:00 – 4:00pm

1. Portland ‘Go By Bike’

N. Williams Neighborhood

Experience the true essence of Portland in its exceptional role as America’s first major Platinum-designated bike-friendly city. See, hear and feel the spirit of a genuine urban biking community. On this special tour, you will enjoy Portland’s bicycle-friendly streets and buffered bicycle lanes, green streets and trails. Learn about agency efforts and creative collaborations between public and private entities to encourage bicycling. Explore the techniques and challenges to better integrate bicycling with on-street rail lines. This tour provides an enriching opportunity to network with other “bicyclistas” while also exploring the unique bike culture that contributes to Portland’s vibrant, local economy. Approximate Distance: 10 easy miles. (Fee for Bike rental - $24.00 must be paid in advance. There is a $10.00 cancellation fee per bike within 24 hours of the rental date.) (Maximum 15)

Leader – TBD

3:00 – 5:00pm

2. Low-Income Housing – Pearl Court and Lovejoy Station

Internationally heralded as a livable and successful redevelopment of a former warehouse district, the Pearl today is a vibrant community in part because of its affordable housing options. Home Forward demystifies perceptions of low-income housing with its Pearl Court and Lovejoy Station properties. Mingling with high-end condominiums, Pearl Court is a five-story apartment community in the heart of the Pearl District featuring 199, studio, one and two-bedroom homes. It serves residents earning between 40% and 60% of area median income. Nearby, Lovejoy Station is a five-story apartment community with 181 studio, one and two-bedroom homes. This community serves residents with incomes between 40% and 80% of area median income. (Maximum 20)

Leader – Steve Rudman, Executive Director, Home Forward

3:00 – 5:00pm

3. Affordable Family Housing in the City – The Ramona & Sitka

Developer Ed McNamara will lead a walking tour of the exteriors of the Sitka and the Ramona, two mid-rise, mixed-use, affordable apartment buildings in Portland’s Pearl District. Until 1994, the heart of the Pearl District was 40 acres of contaminated vacant railroad yards. Today, it is a dense mixed-use neighborhood. Generally perceived as a place for the wealthy, more than 25% of new housing there is income restricted.

We’ll discuss the evolution of the Pearl, the history behind the affordable housing there, and ongoing efforts to make a “complete neighborhood”.

The Sitka – www.TheSitka.com – was completed in 2005 and has 209 apartments and 7,700 SF of commercial space.

The Ramona – www.TheRamona.com – was designed especially for families with children and was completed in 2011. The Ramona has 138 apartments, 14,400 SF of ground floor space for Portland Public Schools and a nonprofit community group, and an outdoor playground. (Maximum 20)

What happens when a city builds civic spaces for its citizens? For free speech, for civic activism, and for festivals, events, celebrations, and even protests? Join this study tour to see how Portlanders worked with their city to design, create, use, and cherish the beloved urban squares of the city. Tour will begin at the south end of the city, with Lawrence Halprin and the city’s first urban project of the 1960s. We will then travel by foot and streetcar to Pioneer Courthouse Square, and Director Park. (Maximum 25)

Leader – TBD

3:30 – 5:15pm

5. Ending Homelessness/Exploring Portland’s Successful Tools

Old town/Chinatown and Central City Concern

This tour takes you to the heart of Old Town/China Town, and to the doorsteps of Central City Concern. A national model for successful programs ending homelessness, their work involves a unique set of resources, from housing and healthcare to peer support and employment. Central City Concern recognizes the specific needs of each individual and brings programming together to meet those needs. Central City Concern's approach is frequently cast as a national model among individuals and organizations working with homelessness. Meet the leadership, hear the stories, and decide what to take back home. (Maximum 25)

Leader – TBD

3:30 – 5:15pm

6. Portland: the Green City

For generations, Portlanders and their leaders have worked with intention to create a city that is vibrant, innovative, and green. This study tour includes a walking tour of Portland’s more innovative green infrastructure, including discussion of city design standards, storm water systems, bio-swales, and eco-roofs. Features include urban neighborhood parks, by walking and the Portland streetcar. Tour includes neighborhood parks and green spaces, North and South Parks Blocks, Jamison Square, Tanner Springs Park, and The Field. (Maximum 25)

Leader – TBD

Thursday, June 12, 2014

2:00 – 4:00pm

7. Civic Activism (by Bike)

Sherrett (Share-it) Square and the 20 Minute Neighborhood

Share-It Square is located in Portland's Sellwood neighborhood. Looking to create a community gathering place, residents turned an intersection into their own public square. They painted a geometric design based on an indigenous symbol for gathering and peace in the center of the intersection to define the space. Share-It Square also has installed on the street corners: a community bulletin board and chalkboard; a food-sharing stand; a kids' playhouse; and a 24-hour tea station – a thermos with tea cups and tea; neighbors take turns keeping it supplied with hot water and tea.

This study tour bikes us mostly on a protected bikeway, along the Willamette River, on the City’s first rails-to-trails conversion – the Springwater Corridor. We’ll bike through wild lands and wetlands; nature in the city. The route travels past Oaks Bottom Natural reserve, and into one of Portland’s iconic 20-minute urban neighborhoods – Sellwood/Westmoreland. (Fee for Bike rental - $24.00 must be paid in advance. There is a $10.00 cancellation fee per bike within 24 hours of the rental date.) (Maximum 15)

What happens when a city builds civic spaces for its citizens? For free speech, for civic activism, and for festivals, events, celebrations, and even protests? Join this study tour to see how Portlanders worked with their city to design, create, use, and cherish beloved urban squares of the city. Tour will begin at the south end of the city, with Lawrence Halprin and the city’s first urban project of the 1960s. We will then tour Pioneer Courthouse Square, and Director Park. (Maximum 25)

Leader – TBD

2:00 – 4:00pm

9. Portland: the Green City

For generations, Portlanders and their leaders have worked with intention to create a city that is vibrant, innovative, and green. This study tour includes a walking tour of Portland’s more innovative green infrastructure, including discussion of city design standards, storm water systems, bio-swales, and eco-roofs. Features include urban neighborhood parks, by walking and the Portland streetcar. Tour includes neighborhood parks and green spaces, North and South Parks Blocks, Jamison Square, Tanner Springs Park, and The Field. (Maximum 25)

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"The conference was one of the most interesting and genuinely useful for information gathering that I’ve been to. The different backgrounds of the participants addressing the same issues was the key."

Joe Anglin Glatting Lopez Kercher Anglin

"A wonderful Conference. I truly believe this is the best Conference on cities."

Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., City of Charleston

"The most important continuous conference dialogue on making the world's cities and towns more livable for all of their inhabitants."

Dr. Sven von Ungern-Sternberg, Governor, State of South Baden, Germany

"Congratulations for your extraordinary and successful effort. The Conference holds a magnifying glass to the world’s best cities, revealing why, and how they work."

Benjamin Thompson, FAIA AIA Gold Medalist

"Love for our cities unites all of us in this unique, impressive conference, with participants from different countries, with different professional backgrounds, but with one purpose: making our cities more livable."

Antonio Casellati Former Mayor, City of Venice, Italy

"Thank you for the utterly fascinating conference in Santa Fe... It has been a long time since I have been intellectually stimulated and been involved with such international creativity and innovations. The conference energized me and I was able to bring back ideas and information to my city."

Councilmember Stephanie Karlin, Avondale, AZ

"What an amazing conference! One of the best professional events I have ever attended!! Well-structured, extremely well-organized and super-high quality of both the presenters and materials presented."